Firstly, please don’t be alarmed – the elearn email address is not disappearing! We would just like to encourage everyone to start using Service Desk for their Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) queries.

Why email Service Desk rather than eLearn

For You:

  • Confidence knowing straight away that your query has been logged.
  • That by accessing your Self Service Portal you’ll be able to track your query.
  • Should you ever need to revisit the email again, it’ll be easy to do so through the call reference number.

For Us:

  • Traceability of emails: we often have to provide evidence for ECFs (e.g. Was Turnitin down on a certain date? Did my student report problems in Moodle on this date?)  
  • As a team we can clearly see who is actioning which query, and no emails will be lost in the system.
  • The IT Service Management (ITSM) tool, Service Manager (was Supportworks), can supply reports and analytics quicker than us working our way through elearn email folders.

Some background information

Some of you may already be familiar with Service Manager, but for those of you who are not, the ITSM tool records all queries to the Service Desk for IS and for other departments in the University. ITSM helps to standardise the IT procedures across departments.

How does it work?

  • From the moment you contact Service Desk (servicedesk@port.ac.uk or telephone them on +44 (0) 23 9284 7777), a call reference number is allocated to your query.  
  • The email is acknowledged by return, supplying the customer with a call reference number.
  • At the same time Service Desk logs the call and assigns it to the DCQE Group.
  • A member of the TEL team will accept the query and will try to resolve it.
  • If further information is required to complete your request. The TEL member of staff  will reply to the original email, if this happens, the query is put ‘on-hold’.
  • This number can be tracked through your Self Service Portal  (http://myport.ac.uk/), servicedesk.port.ac.uk, where you can check the status.
  • Once completed, the customer is emailed back with the actions that have resolved the query.
  • The call reference number stays with the query so should the issue arise again we’ll be able see how it was resolved.  
  • If a pattern appears we’ll either be able to prevent it occurring or be in a position to inform other Moodle users.
  • Templates are available for you to complete (in some cases) on your UoP Self Service Portal, so that TEL can action your request immediately, as you would have supplied all the key information  e.g. new modules, adding members of staff to your modules etc.
  • All the TEL team will be able to see if a query status has changed and should the original member be away from work, one of their colleagues would be able to complete your query.

Please remember whichever way you choose to raise your query, either via elearn or the service desk, we’ll endeavor to resolve your query and get back to you as soon as possible.